Shattered Reality
by Glissoning Raven
Summary: Simon tells Kaylee a story about the fall of Earth-That-Was. River accidentally stumbles upon the truth so carefully buried in the legends. Wash overhears them and fears that his secret may soon be exposed. Dollhouse/Firefly. Post series Firefly. Pre movie Serenity. Post series Dollhouse.


**Summery: Simon tells Kaylee a story about the fall of Earth-That-Was. River accidentally stumbles upon the truth so carefully buried in the legends. Wash overhears them and fears that his secret may soon be exposed. Dollhouse/Firefly.**

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Kaylee laughed, snuggling deeper into Simon's embrace as they sat on one of the couches in the lounge area.

"Your aunt must have known some pretty interesting stories," she said.

"Oh, yes," Simon assured her. "She used to always tell us all kinds of stories about Earth-That-Was."

"Were any of them true?" Kaylee asked.

Simon shrugged.

"I don't know, but sometimes I liked to think they were."

"Well, go on, tell me one," she urged.

"Okay," Simon stopped to think for a moment. "I'll tell you the one that used to be my favorite. It's actually very sad. It's about the fall of Earth-That-Was."

"Oooh. This sounds interesting," Kaylee said, excited. "Go on."

"Many years before the fall of Earth-That-Was, an organization was formed. It was called Rossum. They created a project called the Dollhouse."

Simon went on to tell Kaylee about Paul and his quest to save Caroline from the Dollhouse, about Echo, Victor, Sierra and their rebellion against the dollhouse, about Boyd Langton and his betrayal, about Adele Dewitt and how she eventually joined Echo in her quest to take down the dollhouse, and about Alpha, all the terrible things he had done and how he eventually gained control of his personalities and was able to aid in the fight against Rossum. Somewhere along the line River had wondered in and started listening to the story too.

Simon told them how the rouge dolls had taken down Rossum and how this had lead to the tech getting out of control. He told them about the ten year war that they had fought to save the world from the tech and how Topher Brink had died to set the world right. Of course, then came the part about how, no matter what they did, it was never enough. Earth had been too far gone by the time the war with Rossum had ended. They destroyed the tech and reset everyone who had been wiped, but it just wasn't enough.

By the time he had finished, his shirt was wet with Kaylee's tears. Neither of them noticed Wash hovering just outside the door, listening to every word with baited breath, fear evident in every line of his body.

"That's so sad," Kaylee whispered. "I wonder if it's true."

"My aunt seemed to think so," Simon said.

"I wonder what happened to them after the Exodus," Kaylee said.

Simon shrugged.

"My aunt never said. The story ended with the Exodus. She said that Victor and Sierra had a child, but she never said what happened to him either."

"They float in oblivion, trapped between then and now, wandering forever, all alone," River said quietly.

Simon and Kaylee exchanged glances.

"Who are you talking about, River?" Simon asked gently.

"He is sad," River said, staring at the door.

"Who?" asked Simon.

River turned her sharp gaze on him.

"He remembers everything that was, that is. The voices, they talk, they scream. They want to be free. He's trapped, broken into so many pieces."

She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, beginning to rock back and forth.

"So many people. So much noise. But, he's all alone."

"River," Simon said gently. "Who are you talking about?"

She looked at him blankly for a moment before responding.

"Everyone, no one, the superior being," she said. "They took him and broke him. He tried to fix himself, make himself better, but he can't, no one can."

"Who are you talking about?" Simon pressed.

Outside the door Wash tensed. He willed her to be quiet. Maybe she wouldn't say anything more, or maybe they would just brush it off as her insane ramblings. He could only hope.

River stared at the door silently for several long moments. Simon had almost given up on getting an answer and Wash was beginning to relax slightly, thinking the danger had passed, when River whispered a single word, the word that shattered Wash's world.

"Alpha."

Wash felt like his entire world had just come crashing down around him. He felt like he had just been run over by a truck. Fear stole his breath away. The voices in his head were screaming, clamoring louder than they had in decades. But beneath the chaos was a whisper that made him freeze, a cold whisper that he had thought was gone for good.

_Kill her._ He whispered. Wash began to panic. No, this couldn't be happening. He was supposed to be gone for good.

_You can't get rid of me. I will always be a part of you. We are the same._ The voice whispered.

_No!_ Wash tried to push the voice down. _I will never be like you!_

The voice laughed.

_You can never get rid of me. We are one. We are the same. You must kill her. It is the only way to protect us._

Wash gripped his head with his hands. He fought to push the voice down, but it just kept getting stronger.

_No! No. No…_

_Yes. You must._

_No. I can't. I'm not like you._

_You are me and I am you. We are one._

"No," Wash whispered in the silence of the corridor. "Never."

Inside the room River was clutching her head and rocking back and forth. Simon and Kaylee were crouched on either side of her, concerned.

"River, what is wrong," Simon asked.

"The screaming, they are trying to get free. He's fighting the demon, but the demon is strong, so strong. He is afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Of me. He says I must die. I know too much. I see him. I know him. I must die," she whispered fearfully.

Simon took her into a comforting embrace.

"Shh. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You're not going to die."

Wash couldn't stand to hear any more. He fled to the bridge where he huddled in silent agony. But, he could not hide his pain from River. Back in the lounge, River huddled against Simon, bloody images dancing through her mind. She sobbed quietly into his shirt until she finally fell into a restless sleep.

As soon as she was asleep, Simon wandered over to the door and looked out into the hall, wondering why his sister had kept staring at it when talking about Alpha. But there was no one there and no sign that there ever had been. He slowly turned back to Kaylee and his sleeping sister.

"What do you think she meant?" Kaylee asked softly.

"I wish I knew."

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**A/N: Just a short little one shot. There may or may not be a sequel eventually. It all depends on how much time I have and what the response to this one is. Sequel may be Dollhouse/Firefly or Dollhouse/Firefly/DoctorWho. If you have any thoughts on which one you would prefer or any other ideas let me know. **


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